Human Again
by EdwardsMate4ever
Summary: An encounter with a witch causes Edward to revert back to his human self. Any more detail gives too much away. Minor use of True Blood character Antonia - prior TB knowledge not necessary. R&R! Happy Halloween!


**Summary**: An encounter with a witch causes Edward to revert back to his human self. Any more detail gives too much away. Minor use of True Blood character Antonia - prior TB knowledge not necessary.

**A/N:** In this Halloween-inspired one-shot, Jacob and Edward are an established couple, and they are currently living in New Hampshire with the rest of the Cullens.

**Human Again**

Edward and Jacob walked hand in hand through the town of Salem, MA. It was Halloween night, and Salem was bustling with revelers who sought a memorable evening in the haunting, historic landmark town. They snaked their way through the throngs of drunken, costumed people, enjoying the spectacle. This was their first Halloween in New England. The family had recently moved to New Hampshire, just outside of Dartmouth College, to create a new beginning. Suspicions were arising in Forks, as Doctor Cullen and his brood weren't looking any older, so it was time to move on.

"Edward," Jacob said, tearing his mate's attention from the reeling minds surrounding them. "Let's go somewhere a little...quieter," he murmured, his tone seductive.

Edward grinned. Jacob could never resist him for long. "Where did you have in mind, love?"

Jacob's brow furrowed in thought. Even though Edward knew what he was thinking, he waited for Jacob to speak. "Let's find that cemetery where they buried the witch trial victims." Jacob's eyes became hooded with lust at his plan, and he leaned his head down to whisper in Edward's ear, "I've always wanted to make out in a cemetery."

Edward shuddered with desire. He bit his lip in anticipation and nuzzled into Jacob's neck, flicking the shell of his ear with his ice-cold tongue. "What a sick fantasy," he whispered. Jacob's thoughts were edged with shame, and Edward spoke quickly to reassure him, "It would be my pleasure to indulge you."

Jacob smiled slightly, lust rolling through his body in waves. Edward took the tourist map from his back pocket and searched for the burial site. "Burying Point Cemetery," he told Jacob. "It's not too far from here." They joined hands again and made their way towards the graveyard.

xxxxxxxxxx

Antonia surveyed the cemetery, searching for the headstones of the unfortunate women who had suffered a fate similar to hers. She had made it a habit to come to Salem every October 31st to pay her respects to the women who had unjustly been hanged. She identified with them. However, Antonia's own fate had been far more horrific. While these women had died at the hands of their peers, Antonia had died at the hands of vampires. Vampires that raped and tortured her before setting her to burn.

The headstones Antonia had been searching for were now before her. The markers were weather-beaten, and she frowned at the lack of care they received. The names were barely legible, faded by time. Gently, she placed a black rose on each plot. "Pobrecita." she murmured reverently to each fallen woman. Bridget Bishop. Rebecca Nurse. Sarah Good. Elizabeth Howe. The list went on, twenty victims long.

Her annual respects paid, Antonia was about to leave, when a pair of men entered the cemetery. They walked together, hand in hand, deeper into the cemetery, quietly whispering to each other. Had she been more than a mere specter, the hairs at the back of her neck would have stood on end. Before her was one of _them_ - one of the vile demons that had brutalized her and ended her life. She shook with an all-consuming rage. Not only did the vampire dare to enter this sacred burying ground, but he brought himself an unsuspecting snack. The dark-skinned boy appeared to be enraptured by the demon, likely under his sensual spell that would soon mean death for the human boy. Antonia would not allow it to happen.

The vampire's head snapped in her direction, staring in shock. The human's eyes followed the vampire's gaze. She had their attention. She would strike the creature down. The demon's face hardened, and he took a step towards her.

Antonia raised her arms to the heavens and let loose her incantation. "Sanguine sordida potator!"

The vampire halted, frozen in place. Antonia directed her hands at his chest, her palms outstretched to face his body. "Tribus diebus, quod olim factum, habitant intra fragile corpus hostias!" she cried.

The beast crumpled to the ground, his body racked with convulsions. The vampire's companion was distraught. He dropped to his knees beside the fallen creature, shouting his name, shaking his shoulders to try to rouse him. It seemed to Antonia that this human cared for the vile abberration. What a fool. She had done him a favor by striking down the monster that would surely have drunk his blood if Antonia hadn't stepped in. The dark-skinned boy looked up at her in horror and screamed, "What have you done to him?" With a satisfied smirk, Antonia vanished.

The moment she was gone, Edward seemed to recover. He rose from the ground shakily, trying to regain his composure. Jacob grabbed his shoulders and turned Edward to face him. "Edward, are you alright?" Edward nodded, a far away look in his eyes. "What did she say? How did she do that to you?" Jacob demanded.

Edward met Jacob's panicked gaze, his own eyes hardening in determination. "We have to get back," Edward hissed. "_Now_." He took off in the direction of home at top speed, Jacob only a few seconds behind him.

xxxxxxxxx

They had been running for quite some time. Jacob had no idea what that woman had said to Edward in the cemetery, and it seemed as though Edward wasn't about to stop to explain it to him. Whatever it was, it was important enough to rush back to talk to Carlisle about, so it couldn't have been anything good. Jacob tried to push any negative thoughts from his mind and simply focus on keeping up with Edward.

Halfway home, Jacob gained the lead, which wasn't too surprising - although Edward was generally faster, Jacob could sometimes surpass him. But Jacob sensed that Edward's pace was slowing dramatically behind him. The wolf skidded to a stop and turned - the vampire was clearly exerting himself, but his legs would not carry him faster than a human pace. Deep concern shook Jacob to the core. There was something strange about this occurrence - Edward never, ever struggled with speed. He had to get him home and fast.

_Edward, get on my back._ Edward complied wordlessly, his features tensed with exhaustion. He climbed onto Jacob's back, twisting his long fingers into the coarse fur. When he felt Edward was secure, Jacob ran as fast as he could, pushing himself to the absolute limit. About four miles from home, Jacob felt Edward's grasp slacken, and the vampire fell from the wolf's back with a resounding thud.

_Edward!_ Jacob's mind cried as he doubled back and nudged the unconscious vampire with his muzzle. Edward didn't move. The wolf carefully took Edward between his jaws, noting that his body has lost some rigidity. It no longer felt like marble stone - it was more akin to rubber - pliable enough for Jacob's teeth to leave behind an impression. As Jacob continued to run, he felt the body between his teeth softening more and more. And then he heard it - _Lub dub. Lub dub_. In Jacob's shock, his jaws tightened a fraction. He heard the sound of a slight puncture and tasted the bitter flavor of coppery iron drip onto his tongue.

Jacob skidded to a halt, gently placing his mate onto the forest floor. Edward's torso had torn on his teeth - blood seeping from the previously impossible wound. The vampire's dead heart was somehow beating again - his chest rising and falling, no longer out of habit, as he was unconscious, but out of necessity. Even in the pitch black of night, Jacob could see Edward's clothes hanging from his frame, suddenly too big for him. His body was devoid of the light muscle Jacob was so used to. Willing himself not to cry, Jacob phased back to human form, slipped on his shorts, and ran the rest of the way home, cradling his rapidly warming mate in his arms.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Jacob burst through the front door of the house to find the rest of the Cullens already gathered in the foyer. They had smelled Jacob coming, and had caught a new scent of fresh blood accompanying him. A collective gasp rose as Jacob crossed the threshold into the harsh light, a very delicate, human-looking Edward in his arms. Jacob peered down at his sleeping mate's face, now peppered with freckles across his flushed cheeks.

"What happened?" Esme breathed, fear and worry clouding her tone.

Jacob clutched Edward tighter as he relayed the story. "We were walking in an old cemetery in Salem, and a woman appeared out of nowhere, chanting Latin or something at Edward. He fell down and had a seizure I think. By the time he came to, she was gone. We started running home, but he couldn't run anymore after a while. He started changing..."

"Let me see him," Carlisle said gently. Unwilling to let Edward go, Jacob sat on the couch, laying Edward out so that his head rested in Jacob's lap. Jacob carded his fingers through Edward's hair as Carlisle looked him over.

"Amazing," Carlisle said, entranced. "He looks exactly like he did when I found him." Carlisle swiftly rose to address the family. "Edward is alive. His heart pumps blood through his veins, his lungs require air - he sleeps, as you can see."

Carlisle took a deep, unnecessary breath. "I've heard of this before. There is a vengeful spirit of a witch that roams the Earth. Around the time of my own change, there was a coven of vampires in Spain that raped and tortured women. One of them was a powerful witch, and they killed her. Now, her spirit lives on, and if it encounters a vampire, it casts a spell that reverts them back to their human form for three days. Some vampires survive unscathed, but many go insane. The spell causes them to go back completely - when Edward wakes, he will believe it is still 1918, and he will have no memory of any of us. We will have to be very careful not to scare him. If we fail, he may go into shock, or have a heart attack from the stress."

Edward began to stir. Carlisle placed a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Son, it would be best if you stepped away. He does not know you now." Jacob swallowed thickly, but he listened, rising to join the rest of the family a few feet away.

Alice wept tearlessly into Jasper's loving embrace. "I couldn't see," she murmured. "Jake was there, I couldn't see..." Jasper shushed her. "We know, dear. It's not your fault."

"Everyone just stay back, don't make any sudden moves," Carlisle told them, in a voice too quiet for a human ear.

Edward's eyes fluttered open. He gasped and sat bolt upright, glancing furtively at his surroundings. Jacob was taken aback at the sight of Edward's luminous emerald eyes. He had always longed to see how green those eyes had been, dismissing the idea as an impossibility. He wished he could see them up close.

The nervous teen drew his knees up to his chest defensively. "W-where am I?" he questioned no one in particular, his voice no longer velvety smooth, but more raspy and wavering. His gaze fell on Carlisle and the boy sighed in relief, recognizing him.

"D-doctor Cullen? Why am I not in hospital? Am I better?" he asked hopefully.

Carlisle assumed his doctor's bedside demeanor, sitting next to Edward on the couch. "We think so, Master Mason."

Edward smiled slightly at that, but it quickly disappeared. "Where am I now?" he asked warily, eyeing the group of beautiful people watching him. "Who are they?"

Jacob choked back a sob when Edward failed to recognize him. Three days, he told himself. Three days and he'd have his mate back.

Carlisle made up an answer on the spot. "You are in a holding facility. Just until we're sure you're well enough to leave." Edward seemed satisfied with that, but he was still wary of the others. Carlisle explained, "They are just other doctors and nurses. The dark-skinned boy is another survivor."

Edward nodded and locked eyes with Jacob. They shared a victorious smile - Edward was glad the handsome young man had also been able to beat the illness. "Lucky us," Edward replied.

After a moment of silence, Edward asked Carlisle, a nervous edge to his voice, "Dr. Cullen, where is Mother?"

The group tensed. Jasper sent them all a wave of calm. Carlisle looked down at the floor and took a steadying breath. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and looked sadly into his hopeful eyes. "I'm so sorry, Edward, but your mother succumbed not long ago." Edward's breath hitched and his lower lip quivered. "Can I see her?" he whispered. Carlisle just shook his head.

Edward's beautiful green eyes welled up with tears. He struggled to be brave in front of the audience of unknown people, but his grief got the better of him. The tears streamed down his cheeks and he futilely tried to wipe them away. Carlisle wrapped his arms around the teen, providing him with a comforting shoulder to cry on. Jacob's heart constricted - he wanted to be the one to comfort his mate, but he knew it would only confuse and frighten Edward if he attempted to come closer. So, he watched his mate from afar, his fingers itching to hold him.

Edward's sobs seemed to almost be choking him. He gasped through his sobs, his body shuddering violently. Suddenly, he shoved Carlisle away, his eyes as wide as saucers, and started coughing uncontrollably. He covered his mouth with his hand, hacking harshly, trying to catch his rattling breath. After what felt like forever, but was likely less than a minute, the coughing fit passed.

Edward collapsed against the back of the couch, exhausted. His hand fell back to his side. Staining his lips and palm were frothy streaks of blood.

xxxxxxx

For the first time in over 24 hours, Jacob left Edward's bedside. Emmett and Rosalie almost had to forcibly remove him, insisting that he needed to eat something. So there he was, standing at the kitchen counter, choking down a sandwich he could barely taste. His mind was reeling.

Edward had deteriorated rapidly since they returned home. His mate's lungs rattled with every shallow breath and when he would cough, blood and mucus would fill his mouth. He was burning up, almost as hot as Jacob. The fever made him delirious, babbling nonsense. Sweat seeped from every pore, making him dehydrated. He could barely sip water or soup, so Carlisle has hooked up an IV, but it didn't seem to be helping enough. Edward was wasting away before their eyes.

Having finished his sandwich, Jacob sprinted up the stairs. Carlisle was sitting beside the bed, sweeping the sweat-soaked hair from his son's damp forehead. Edward was asleep, but it was fitful - his body jerked occasionally, his face drawn with pain. Carlisle was struggling to keep his composure. "I tried to save you from this, my child," he whispered softly, still stroking back Edward's hair. "I tried..." His voice broke and he covered his face with his hands, shoulders shaking with silent tears.

Jacob rushed over to him, and they hugged each other tight, quietly sharing their grief, careful not to wake the boy they both loved. They held each other until the sobs ran dry. Carlisle gently broke their embrace, clearing his throat.

"Jacob, I'm calling a family meeting. Come to my study in about ten minutes, okay?"

Jacob nodded, and went to sit beside Edward until it was time.

xxxxxxx

The family was gathered in Carlisle's study, waiting for his update on Edward's condition.

Carlisle face was unreadable. His expression was serious, and he assumed his doctor's persona to break the bad news to his family. It was the only way for him to handle what he was about to tell them without breaking down. The rest of the family already knew what was coming, but they hoped they were wrong.

Carlisle breathed through his nose deeply and began to speak.

"As you all know, Edward had the Spanish flu when I changed him. He was on the brink of death at the time, so close that I wasn't even sure he could be saved. The witch's spell..." he trailed off, his voice catching.

"But Carlisle," Rosalie interjected. "That was decades ago. Surely there is a vaccine that exists to cure him."

Carlisle nodded, "There is, Rosalie. There is a vaccine that exists. It is now known that Spanish flu was equivalent to H1N1. But, Edward is too far gone for it to have any effect."

Jacob refused to accept this. "No!" he yelled, grabbing Carlisle by the shirt collar. "You have to try it! Why are you giving up on him? He's your son!"

Carlisle gently removed Jacob's hands from his shirt and held them within his own. "Jacob, it won't work. Of course I want to do everything in my power to help him. I love him. We all love him."

Jacob's legs wouldn't hold him up anymore. They folded beneath him and he sank to the floor, defeated.

Esme whispered, "Will he last, Carlisle? There is still a day and a half left for the spell to break."

Carlisle shook his head. "I don't know, Esme. The original flu usually killed within two days. Edward's will is strong, but his body is weak. It doesn't look good."

xxxxx

Jacob sat in his usual spot next to Edward's bedside. He silently cursed himself for taking Edward's immortality for granted. How many precious moments had they lost, simply because they always had tomorrow? Jacob shuddered to think he might never hear his laugh again, kiss his lips, hold him close, share every moment of their lives. What would he do without Edward? How could he go on if the love of his life were dead?

Edward interrupted Jacob's sorrowful musings, his emerald eyes fluttering open. "Water," he gasped, his parched throat terribly raspy. Jacob helped prop him up to a sitting position and raised the glass to Edward's lips. His mate took a small sip, but it only made him cough harshly. Jacob held a handkerchief to Edward's mouth, rubbing soothing circles across his back until the fit was over. Jacob disposed of the bloody cloth in the wastebasket next to the bed. Thoroughly weakened, Edward fell back against the pillow.

His cheeks were sunken in now, the disease was eating away at him from the inside out. His skin had a grey pallor to it - his adorable freckles could hardly be seen anymore. They were replaced by dark bluish black spots, an indelible mark of the disease.

He took a shaky, shallow breath. Jacob struggled to hide his shudder as he listened to the crackling sound in Edward's chest. His lungs were filling with fluid. There was no mistaking it.

Edward's fever was burning up, he was now even hotter than the wolf. Jacob dipped a washcloth in the ice water on the nightstand and gently wiped at Edward's forehead. Edward writhed in pain, muttering in his delirium things that Jacob couldn't understand.

Suddenly, Edward grabbed Jacob's wrist, startling the boy. Jacob stared into Edward's eyes - they were clear, lucid.

Edward took another crackly breath and rasped, "I feel like I know you. I know I do not, but your presence makes me feel...safe. Thank you for staying."

Jacob squeezed his hand, willing himself to stay strong. "I'll never leave you, Edward. I'll be here for you - forever."

Edward smiled slightly as his eyes closed, lost to the fever once more.

xxxxxxx

A few hours later, Edward seized in his bed. He struggled to breathe, his eyes widening as he realized that the end was near. Jacob sat at attention, grabbing his mate's hand and holding it tightly. Edward tried in vain to take a breath, but his lungs had little room left to accommodate oxygen. He turned his face to Jacob, terribly afraid.

"Jacob, I'm frightened!" he cried. "Don't leave me! Please help..."

Jacob couldn't stop the flood of tears streaming down his face. He gazed into Edward's wild eyes and squeezed his hand, doing his best to soothe his mate's fears. "It's okay, Edward. I'm here. I'm here. I'll never leave."

Tears streamed down Edward's cheeks as he gasped desperately for air. "There's no light. There's no light," he choked. Jacob swallowed the rising lump in his throat.

"Don't worry," Jacob reassured him, his voice cracking. "Your mother and father are waiting for you. Just let go. Let go, love. Let go. Let go."

Jacob continued to whisper to his mate, stroking his cheek as the fluid in his lungs strangled him. Their eyes met as Edward tried one last time to breathe. He stared into Jacob's tear-filled eyes, as if he was staring straight into his mate's soul. It felt to Jacob as though Edward was finally recognizing him for who he really was.

He whispered so softly that Jacob almost didn't hear, "Love you, Jake." And then, his body shuddered violently and the hand that Jacob held fell limp. Edward's emerald eyes shifted away from Jacob's, staring just past his shoulder, the life in them gone as his soul soared into death.

Jacob gently closed his love's unfocused eyes with his palm. He brushed his lips against Edward's softly, one last time. "I love you, Edward. Forever."

The End

**A/N:** Thank you for reading. Please review - I've never written anything like this before, so I'd be interested to know what you thought.

**Latin translation:** Filthy blood drinker! For three days, become what you once were, reside within the fragile body of your victims.


End file.
